Strategic Transportation Plan

The Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) is a multimodal transportation plan initiated by the Denver Department of Public Works, with support from other city agencies and interested stakeholders, to understand and address the current and future transportation needs of the City and County of Denver. The STP also serves as a unique and innovative approach to identifying future system needs and community values, and provides a method to incorporate them into future transportation decisions and solutions.

About Denver's Strategic Transportation Plan

The Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) is a multimodal transportation plan initiated by the Denver Department of Public Works, with support from other city agencies and interested stakeholders, to understand and address the current and future transportation needs of the City and County of Denver. The STP also serves as a unique and innovative approach to identifying future system needs and community values, and provides a method to incorporate them into future transportation decisions and solutions. The STP builds upon several previous city planning efforts, including:

The ideas and strategies incorporated in Blueprint Denver were adopted as a supplement to Plan 2000 [Denver’s Comprehensive Plan 2000]. Several key elements central to the success of Plan 2000 provided the framework for Blueprint Denver, which includes the following vision as related to the transportation system: “… residents will enjoy a greater variety of convenient transportation options and alternative mobility choices.” Plan 2000 also lists certain objectives that must be pursued to achieve the vision of success. These objectives include creating a city wide land-use and transportation plan, and supporting the development of a clean, efficient and innovative transportation system.

There are several key concepts that are central to Blueprint Denver’s successful implementation. The plan directs growth to Areas of Change and manages and limits change in Areas of Stability. This is accomplished, in part, by improving the function of streets. Multimodal streets accommodate more trips by more people in the same amount of space by improving transit and providing better pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Multimodal streets consider all types of transportation to be equally important. In accordance with Plan 2000, implementing the tools presented in the plan will enhance existing multimodal and intermodal transportation connections while also ensuring that future development will feature a range of diverse and well-integrated transportation choices. The result will be an improved environment for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users and less reliance on single-occupant vehicles.

Making the Blueprint Denver Vision a Reality

Blueprint Denver (2002) was the first step in planning an integrated land-use and transportation strategy for Denver, and called for an expanded transportation study. The STP implements the transportation component of Blueprint Denver by identifying both short- and long-term needs for the Denver transportation system. The STP determines transportation-related strategies for Denver to accommodate projected regional population growth of 1.3 million people by the year 2030. The STP supports the development of a clean, efficient and innovative transportation system. The STP also identifies transportation improvements to complement and support the regional FasTracks program, a 12-year, public transportation expansion plan for the Denver region, developed in 2004 by the Regional Transportation District (RTD). It identifies the transportation improvements from our other partners: CDOT, DRCOG, and the private sector. The STP considers future growth and transportation system demands, and balances these demands with community identified needs. The result: a comprehensive approach to investing city resources wisely on the right projects — and the right solutions.